I mentioned before that I was headed on a sabbatical this year. Teachers always get a sabbatical of a kind in the summer, but, in truth, it takes at least two weeks to stare at a wall and get all of your senses back. In the case of teachers who are returning to school in September, there is a two-week period where we ruminate (and in some cases, stress) about the upcoming year: what we have to do to get ready, what kinds of changes we want to make, and the like. That leaves four weeks. Which is great. Two of those weeks are usually spent trying to catch up on deep seated house and yard work. And then there is time to have fun with the kids. This is nothing to complain about by any stretch of the imagination, but summers for teachers aren't always as carefree as one might think. More carefree than usual, but still with expectations and need.
Sabbatical, on the other hand, carries with it a different rhythm altogether than what I've experienced at any other time of my life. Music practice with the kids is before school. It's quiet when they're gone. It takes longer to do simple tasks. I have time to write, but it's taking me a while to hit my stride and discover how I'm going to go about it, now that I have all this time. It would be horrible to let this year go by without milking absolutely every moment to execute the best writing I've done to date.
My writing break is over. I'm launching again. I received some good feedback on the latest draft of The Mimic's Riddle. I'll give it one more going over and send it to places like The Lark and the Banff PLaywrights Colony. Then pick up Tooth Sized Holes (I added the plural) and dig right into it.
It's good to be back. Wish me well.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
On the Road Again
Tooth Sized Hole has its 60-pager. I've finished a complete rewrite for The Mimic's Riddle. It wound up being 80 pages, I think there were only 5 pages worth of original material. It was tough to murder more than a few darlings, but it turned out better than I feared.
I'll be taking a break from playwriting for a little bit, perhaps a month or so. I realized when I was near the end of this most recent draft that my poor husband and family were getting the crappy end of the stick with me having to shut myself away in my little room and write, leaving little opportunity to give them all a fun summer. As I said to a former student while sitting on the edge of a beach late last week, "If my kids knew what other kids do in summer, they'd be so mad."
I'm looking forward to reading (works both academic and fluffy), preparing to direct Noises Off, and having some fun with the kids before school starts. Not looking so forward to finishing up my deep house cleaning, but eagerly anticipating the results.
I'm currently up north in Dawson Creek visiting family. It's been our only road trip since the one we took in late July to Cedar City. On Sunday, we'll be on the road once more, returning to my favourite place on earth.
I'll be taking a break from playwriting for a little bit, perhaps a month or so. I realized when I was near the end of this most recent draft that my poor husband and family were getting the crappy end of the stick with me having to shut myself away in my little room and write, leaving little opportunity to give them all a fun summer. As I said to a former student while sitting on the edge of a beach late last week, "If my kids knew what other kids do in summer, they'd be so mad."
I'm looking forward to reading (works both academic and fluffy), preparing to direct Noises Off, and having some fun with the kids before school starts. Not looking so forward to finishing up my deep house cleaning, but eagerly anticipating the results.
I'm currently up north in Dawson Creek visiting family. It's been our only road trip since the one we took in late July to Cedar City. On Sunday, we'll be on the road once more, returning to my favourite place on earth.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Faux-vations
I go to a lot of local theatre productions. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love to see what's going on and to support my friends and neighbours in their work. It works in reverse, after all- they are always supportive of my endeavours, too.
On the topic of standing ovations, my understanding has always been this: when you like a performance, you applaud. When a performance is so good, transcendent even, that it "sweeps you off your feet," you may choose to participate in a standing ovation. You may find yourself indifferent, in which case you will more likely than not offer polite applause. If you really hated it, you might boo, but chances are, you will have walked out before the final curtain.
Lately, I've been baffled by the amount of standing ovations I have found myself participating in, and not for the reasons you might think.
You see, somehow the meanings have shifted. It seems that more frequently than ever, standing ovations are becoming the norm. To not ovate is to send a message of contempt or apathy, it seems. Because I go to a lot of local shows and because I know several people involved with most of the local productions, I find myself "faux-vating" more often than I'd like. Am I swept off my feet? No. Did I like the show? There's always something to admire. But I feel like if I don't stand, like everyone else is, then people will think I didn't like it. It's like, I worry that the girl seated behind me will think that didn't like her uncle's acting job or something. I may not have minded said uncle's acting job, I may even have liked it, but I stand because I don't want to be thought unsupportive. I guess narcissism is at work here to a degree - why should I assume that anyone in a given theatre cares what I think?
It's happening in the professional/semi-professional scene, too. Last weekend, I entered Bigfork's production of Happy Days with glee, eagerly anticipating a true, no-strings theatrical experience. Within seconds of the opening curtain a bunch of idiot-sticks sitting next to me were pointing their friends out on stage (the idiot-stick reference also extends to their ill-mannered use of cell phones throughout the play). The show was fun, but I'd have to say also mediocre (mostly due to a poorly cast Fonzie and an unfocused script), and yeah, there was a standing ovation, and yeah, I stood because I didn't want to stand out as not standing. I just want to go to a play where I can engage with the actors on my own terms.
There is, of course, another response: silent rapture. That happens to me rarely, but it does happen. Sometimes my responses to a performance are too complex to share with a big group right away, and I may have really liked it, but I'm mulling it over. And please, dear Lord, can we do away with the thing where the actors wait for the audience in the lobby (in costume!) and shake our hands? It's awkward. It's too soon. Anything I say at that moment is going to be contrived and dumb.
So, people, here's what we do. The next time you go to a play, if it's good, applaud. If it's awe-inspiring (AWE-INSPIRING! not simply good), stand (if you like). That's it. Even if other people rise to their feet, don't do it unless it was truly outstanding. I'll do it too, and then we won't be alone, and the girl seated behind us doesn't have to think that we didn't like her uncle's acting job.
On the topic of standing ovations, my understanding has always been this: when you like a performance, you applaud. When a performance is so good, transcendent even, that it "sweeps you off your feet," you may choose to participate in a standing ovation. You may find yourself indifferent, in which case you will more likely than not offer polite applause. If you really hated it, you might boo, but chances are, you will have walked out before the final curtain.
Lately, I've been baffled by the amount of standing ovations I have found myself participating in, and not for the reasons you might think.
You see, somehow the meanings have shifted. It seems that more frequently than ever, standing ovations are becoming the norm. To not ovate is to send a message of contempt or apathy, it seems. Because I go to a lot of local shows and because I know several people involved with most of the local productions, I find myself "faux-vating" more often than I'd like. Am I swept off my feet? No. Did I like the show? There's always something to admire. But I feel like if I don't stand, like everyone else is, then people will think I didn't like it. It's like, I worry that the girl seated behind me will think that didn't like her uncle's acting job or something. I may not have minded said uncle's acting job, I may even have liked it, but I stand because I don't want to be thought unsupportive. I guess narcissism is at work here to a degree - why should I assume that anyone in a given theatre cares what I think?
It's happening in the professional/semi-professional scene, too. Last weekend, I entered Bigfork's production of Happy Days with glee, eagerly anticipating a true, no-strings theatrical experience. Within seconds of the opening curtain a bunch of idiot-sticks sitting next to me were pointing their friends out on stage (the idiot-stick reference also extends to their ill-mannered use of cell phones throughout the play). The show was fun, but I'd have to say also mediocre (mostly due to a poorly cast Fonzie and an unfocused script), and yeah, there was a standing ovation, and yeah, I stood because I didn't want to stand out as not standing. I just want to go to a play where I can engage with the actors on my own terms.
There is, of course, another response: silent rapture. That happens to me rarely, but it does happen. Sometimes my responses to a performance are too complex to share with a big group right away, and I may have really liked it, but I'm mulling it over. And please, dear Lord, can we do away with the thing where the actors wait for the audience in the lobby (in costume!) and shake our hands? It's awkward. It's too soon. Anything I say at that moment is going to be contrived and dumb.
So, people, here's what we do. The next time you go to a play, if it's good, applaud. If it's awe-inspiring (AWE-INSPIRING! not simply good), stand (if you like). That's it. Even if other people rise to their feet, don't do it unless it was truly outstanding. I'll do it too, and then we won't be alone, and the girl seated behind us doesn't have to think that we didn't like her uncle's acting job.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Process
I have a way of doing things. When I write plays, what tends to happen is that I start by writing 60 pages. I try to limit the amount of characters somewhat, I have an idea of where it begins and where it ends, but beyond that I don't edit, I try as much as possible to let things go where they may and not question.
I let that sit for awhile, and then I pick it up again, recoil in horror at what's there, and then sift through to see what I can work with. 90 or so pages later, I do it again, this time more fussy about detail and structure. After about the third draft, I feel confident enough to approach a group of people who will sit in a room with me and read the play aloud. That usually tells me what's working and what isn't. More drafts, a public reading, more drafts yet and maybe send it away to a contest.
That's all I got so far. A week or so ago, I finished the 60 pager for Tooth Sized Hole. I think there might be some decent material in there, after all. I'm in the process of preparing for another rewrite of The Mimic's Riddle. It's hard because I know what needs to be done, I'm just not sure how t go about it. I want to have this next draft done by August 13, to send to the Yale Drama Series Competition. I let you know how it goes.
I let that sit for awhile, and then I pick it up again, recoil in horror at what's there, and then sift through to see what I can work with. 90 or so pages later, I do it again, this time more fussy about detail and structure. After about the third draft, I feel confident enough to approach a group of people who will sit in a room with me and read the play aloud. That usually tells me what's working and what isn't. More drafts, a public reading, more drafts yet and maybe send it away to a contest.
That's all I got so far. A week or so ago, I finished the 60 pager for Tooth Sized Hole. I think there might be some decent material in there, after all. I'm in the process of preparing for another rewrite of The Mimic's Riddle. It's hard because I know what needs to be done, I'm just not sure how t go about it. I want to have this next draft done by August 13, to send to the Yale Drama Series Competition. I let you know how it goes.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
New Chapter Part II
I'm back and I've had a nap, so we can pick up again.
I think another thing I'm nervous about with this upcoming year is that my husband is also taking a sabbatical. Here's what I mean - it takes me a while sometimes to get in the groove to write, to clear my head and get a few ideas flowing. So, sometimes, I'll have gone to that effort, be right in the middle of something great (it does happen on occasion), and then he comes bursting in with a question or a comment and it ruins everything. And then I feel guilty about not meeting my family responsibilities or loving them all enough or something.
There's another thing, too. Suffocating people. Suffocating as in the adjective, not the verb. I don't consider myself to be competitive but for one thing mainly - I love theatre and I want to be great at it, particularly directing and writing. The wonderful thing about that is that I don't feel threatened when other people create great work. I love being delighted and surprised about what another person has accomplished under the lights and in front of a hushed crowd. What I don't like is when something sucks and the audience rises to their feet.
Back to suffocating people. Though I have my passions and, at times, my jealousies, I don't seek the spotlight for myself. I don't need constant attention in any of the spheres I run in. But I know some people who always need to sidle in there and talk about whatever they're doing or adjust the lightbulb to shine on their faces. It's just hard for them to let other people grow around them and get to excited for them about what might be happening in their lives. I find myself not talking about the great things that are happening to me because these suffocating people will just change the subject and turn up their own volume.
I know. I just sounded like a classic suffocating person right there. But I'm not, I know I'm not. So, who cares about suffocating people anyway? Exactly. It's one of my goals, to work hard enough and be so immersed in whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing that I am impervious to suffocation.
All right, time to get back to "Tooth-Sized Hole," formerly known as "Scapedog."
Thanks again for being there.
I think another thing I'm nervous about with this upcoming year is that my husband is also taking a sabbatical. Here's what I mean - it takes me a while sometimes to get in the groove to write, to clear my head and get a few ideas flowing. So, sometimes, I'll have gone to that effort, be right in the middle of something great (it does happen on occasion), and then he comes bursting in with a question or a comment and it ruins everything. And then I feel guilty about not meeting my family responsibilities or loving them all enough or something.
There's another thing, too. Suffocating people. Suffocating as in the adjective, not the verb. I don't consider myself to be competitive but for one thing mainly - I love theatre and I want to be great at it, particularly directing and writing. The wonderful thing about that is that I don't feel threatened when other people create great work. I love being delighted and surprised about what another person has accomplished under the lights and in front of a hushed crowd. What I don't like is when something sucks and the audience rises to their feet.
Back to suffocating people. Though I have my passions and, at times, my jealousies, I don't seek the spotlight for myself. I don't need constant attention in any of the spheres I run in. But I know some people who always need to sidle in there and talk about whatever they're doing or adjust the lightbulb to shine on their faces. It's just hard for them to let other people grow around them and get to excited for them about what might be happening in their lives. I find myself not talking about the great things that are happening to me because these suffocating people will just change the subject and turn up their own volume.
I know. I just sounded like a classic suffocating person right there. But I'm not, I know I'm not. So, who cares about suffocating people anyway? Exactly. It's one of my goals, to work hard enough and be so immersed in whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing that I am impervious to suffocation.
All right, time to get back to "Tooth-Sized Hole," formerly known as "Scapedog."
Thanks again for being there.
New Chapter Part I
My one year sabbatical starts today. In the past two weeks, I've had many "So, you must be excited about your year off . . . " conversations. Yes, I am, but there are a number of other emotions at play as well.
Primarily, the huge amount of time I have at my disposal in the upcoming year is a huge responsibility. I'm 38. I have two kids (who get bigger every time I look at them). I'm fat (as previously discussed - things have gone from bad to worse), and I need to get into shape. I'm also concerned about spending too much money. It's easy to not overspend when you're working, but when you're not working, there's more time to notice all the things around the house that need replacing.
I sound ungrateful. I'm not. I'm completely grateful. I just don't wanna mess this up, you know? The last two months have been rigorous. I love my job, but for a while there I couldn't fit another thought in my brain than what I absolutely had to to get through the day. I want to write. I've been writing, but lately it sucks. I keep working and moving forward because writing takes faith and discipline - the only way to not get anything off the ground is not to do anything at all.
Thanks for listening. There's more to come, but I got a call and I have to run.
Primarily, the huge amount of time I have at my disposal in the upcoming year is a huge responsibility. I'm 38. I have two kids (who get bigger every time I look at them). I'm fat (as previously discussed - things have gone from bad to worse), and I need to get into shape. I'm also concerned about spending too much money. It's easy to not overspend when you're working, but when you're not working, there's more time to notice all the things around the house that need replacing.
I sound ungrateful. I'm not. I'm completely grateful. I just don't wanna mess this up, you know? The last two months have been rigorous. I love my job, but for a while there I couldn't fit another thought in my brain than what I absolutely had to to get through the day. I want to write. I've been writing, but lately it sucks. I keep working and moving forward because writing takes faith and discipline - the only way to not get anything off the ground is not to do anything at all.
Thanks for listening. There's more to come, but I got a call and I have to run.
Monday, May 9, 2011
The Groove
I don't want to make excuses for myself, but I find that one of the great barriers to accomplishing anything is the constant noise of the day. I work full time as a teacher, I'm also a mother of two. Between attending to my professional duties and making sure that the kids get off to dance class and practice their music, my brain is essentially fried.
We just had a family member leave after an extended visit. I am finally able to get back to my writing. But, when I sit down to it, it's been so long since the last instalment that I forget my train of thought. So, I stare off into space trying to get it back, and when I finally do, and get into the groove, it's time to eat dinner or put the kids to bed. Not that I'm complaining. Simply resolving to create a margin in my life for creating. To forbid that constant noise from drowning out the things I really want to do.
We just had a family member leave after an extended visit. I am finally able to get back to my writing. But, when I sit down to it, it's been so long since the last instalment that I forget my train of thought. So, I stare off into space trying to get it back, and when I finally do, and get into the groove, it's time to eat dinner or put the kids to bed. Not that I'm complaining. Simply resolving to create a margin in my life for creating. To forbid that constant noise from drowning out the things I really want to do.
Friday, April 22, 2011
On Writing and Sticking it to the Man (or woman, as the case may be)
It's no secret that I feel incredibly fraudulent to be writing about playwriting when I have not yet had any of my work produced. But there is one incredibly liberating aspect to writing, whether you're a Pulitzer (or GG) award winner, or remain in the closet 'til the day you die: the world is full of people who are not on your side. Who, for whatever reason will randomly treat you like dirt and make you feel small. Maybe you have one such person in your life, maybe you have several. But, what's great about writing is, that not one of them can take that perfect turn of phrase, that sublime moment, or that exquisite character away from you. I suppose it's revenge, really. When someone hurts you, just get back at them by writing the best poem, novel, play, scene, whatever of your life. Perhaps no one will ever read it, or ever have the chance to appreciate it, but it's yours and it's great and no one, not even that shortsighted person who doesn't play well with others, can take that away with you.
Yes, I had a few bad experiences this week with some people. Okay, a person. I'm still not over it, but that's what's great about writing. I get to call the shots. That's pretty great in a world where I don't even control when I eat or go to the bathroom. Write on, my friends. Write on.
Yes, I had a few bad experiences this week with some people. Okay, a person. I'm still not over it, but that's what's great about writing. I get to call the shots. That's pretty great in a world where I don't even control when I eat or go to the bathroom. Write on, my friends. Write on.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Dear Diary
I've started doing something I haven't done on a regular basis since I was about 10 years old: keep a journal. Here's the thing: What's something that everyone has either been through, about to go through or are currently putting their kids through? School! (or some facsimile thereof) Who is in one every day and has a thousand stories, observations and insights to share? Me!
So, I thought that since I have a sabbatical coming up next year that will afford me all kinds of time to write, I really should be jotting downs incidents and my reactions to them now, while I'm in the thick of it and it's all fresh.
If anyone finds this diary, it would be a catastrophe. After all, diaries are supposed to be unadulterated and unedited, for an audience of one, right? That's what makes them juicy. If it was the kind of diary other people could read without being astonished, it wouldn't be a very good diary.
Here's an excerpt:
March 30, 2011. Period 3 Socials. Again.
Handed out a worksheet. They like worksheets. They ask for them all the time. I don't mark worksheets. Why would I? All they are is copying out of a book, I don't know how it proves they know anything. They say they like the worksheets. I was just told, "Do you see how quiet it is in here?" But it is surprising (or not) to note how many of them don't even do these coveted work sheets. Can't be bothered.
Okay, so that wasn't exactly juicy. Seriously, the juicy entries can only surface to the world in a very surreptitious, oblique kind of a way where the guilty won't have a clue that the indictments of which I speak are about THEM! You'll have to come to my play when it's ready to really get the dirt.
So, I thought that since I have a sabbatical coming up next year that will afford me all kinds of time to write, I really should be jotting downs incidents and my reactions to them now, while I'm in the thick of it and it's all fresh.
If anyone finds this diary, it would be a catastrophe. After all, diaries are supposed to be unadulterated and unedited, for an audience of one, right? That's what makes them juicy. If it was the kind of diary other people could read without being astonished, it wouldn't be a very good diary.
Here's an excerpt:
March 30, 2011. Period 3 Socials. Again.
Handed out a worksheet. They like worksheets. They ask for them all the time. I don't mark worksheets. Why would I? All they are is copying out of a book, I don't know how it proves they know anything. They say they like the worksheets. I was just told, "Do you see how quiet it is in here?" But it is surprising (or not) to note how many of them don't even do these coveted work sheets. Can't be bothered.
Okay, so that wasn't exactly juicy. Seriously, the juicy entries can only surface to the world in a very surreptitious, oblique kind of a way where the guilty won't have a clue that the indictments of which I speak are about THEM! You'll have to come to my play when it's ready to really get the dirt.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A New Reign
I came across this today in my daily romp through the New York Times:
Australian Playwright Wins Yale Drama Series Award
By PATRICK HEALY
An Australian play about four people from a small town trying to build new lives after a violent crime has won the 2011 Yale Drama Series award for an emerging playwright. John Guare, the acclaimed stage writer (“The House of Blue Leaves,” “Six Degrees of Separation”) and judge for the series, announced on Tuesday that Shannon Murdoch had won for “New Light Shine.” Ms. Murdoch, who is a legal assistant and writer living near Melbourne, will receive $10,000 from the David Charles Horn Foundation, and there will be a staged reading of the play at the Yale Repertory Theater on Sept. 12. Yale University Press will also publish the play.
The runners-up in the annual international competition were Laura Marks for “Bethany” and Mary Elizabeth Hamilton for “We Three.” This is the fifth time the prize has been awarded. Probably the best-known winner is Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, whose “Lidless” has been staged in Philadelphia; Edinburgh; Austin, Tex.; and at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in West Virginia.
A little bittersweet for me. I was runnerup last year, when David Hare was judge. I met the Yale Drama Series crew in September and went to the reading at Yale Rep for Virginia Gris' blu. It was magical.
Get to work, Mare!
Australian Playwright Wins Yale Drama Series Award
By PATRICK HEALY
An Australian play about four people from a small town trying to build new lives after a violent crime has won the 2011 Yale Drama Series award for an emerging playwright. John Guare, the acclaimed stage writer (“The House of Blue Leaves,” “Six Degrees of Separation”) and judge for the series, announced on Tuesday that Shannon Murdoch had won for “New Light Shine.” Ms. Murdoch, who is a legal assistant and writer living near Melbourne, will receive $10,000 from the David Charles Horn Foundation, and there will be a staged reading of the play at the Yale Repertory Theater on Sept. 12. Yale University Press will also publish the play.
The runners-up in the annual international competition were Laura Marks for “Bethany” and Mary Elizabeth Hamilton for “We Three.” This is the fifth time the prize has been awarded. Probably the best-known winner is Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, whose “Lidless” has been staged in Philadelphia; Edinburgh; Austin, Tex.; and at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in West Virginia.
A little bittersweet for me. I was runnerup last year, when David Hare was judge. I met the Yale Drama Series crew in September and went to the reading at Yale Rep for Virginia Gris' blu. It was magical.
Get to work, Mare!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Rejection
As an unproduced playwright, I've experienced a lot of rejection. It comes with the territory, but it's never pleasant. There are, however, some rejection messages that hurt a little less than others, like this one I got today from Stratford:
Dear Mary,
First, I must apologize for the lengthy time we have taken to respond to your play submission, Siona MacDuff. Yours was one of a small handful of scripts that got a bit delayed between the various readers who reviewed the material and changing personnel within the department.
You have a fine and accurate ear for dialogue and write with great heart and appeal. The implications of the world you are portraying in the play resonate in an immediate way and there is much to appreciate in the play. While we don’t feel it is the right project for us, we would be happy to read and consider more of your work in the future.
All the best with your artistic endeavors and thank you for your interest in the Festival.
Sincerely,
It could be worse. And I think I just may take her up on her invitation to submit more of my work.
Dear Mary,
First, I must apologize for the lengthy time we have taken to respond to your play submission, Siona MacDuff. Yours was one of a small handful of scripts that got a bit delayed between the various readers who reviewed the material and changing personnel within the department.
You have a fine and accurate ear for dialogue and write with great heart and appeal. The implications of the world you are portraying in the play resonate in an immediate way and there is much to appreciate in the play. While we don’t feel it is the right project for us, we would be happy to read and consider more of your work in the future.
All the best with your artistic endeavors and thank you for your interest in the Festival.
Sincerely,
It could be worse. And I think I just may take her up on her invitation to submit more of my work.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
How it is.
I have both good news and bad news. The bad news first: I've started SCAPEDOG, and it totally sucks. I don't mean that in a false-humble kind of way, it really does. I'm going to keep going on it (I'm on page 6, after all) because even after working really hard on it (which I have yet to do), there is a chance that when this first draft is complete, there may be one scene or one character, heck, even one moment that will be worth throwing all the rest away and rebuilding on. And maybe, after 10 drafts or so, there could be something halfway stageable in this little story.
Good News: My husband, Dalton, and I confirmed that we will be co-directing NOISES OFF! for the Key City Theatre (one of the local theatre venues here in Cranbrook). I'm really excited, I mean it's pretty much the funniest play ever written. The big ego part of me wants to just shove Dalton out of the way and do it myself but I think working with him on a team will be the best ever. So, if you're in Cranbrook near the end of January next year, come check it out,
it's going to be awesome. And, if you want to act in it, watch for auditions, we'll be hosting them in June.
Good News: My husband, Dalton, and I confirmed that we will be co-directing NOISES OFF! for the Key City Theatre (one of the local theatre venues here in Cranbrook). I'm really excited, I mean it's pretty much the funniest play ever written. The big ego part of me wants to just shove Dalton out of the way and do it myself but I think working with him on a team will be the best ever. So, if you're in Cranbrook near the end of January next year, come check it out,
it's going to be awesome. And, if you want to act in it, watch for auditions, we'll be hosting them in June.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Something New . . .
I'm between projects right now. I've got THE MIMIC'S RIDDLE to an almost-complete stage and another play (currently titled SPECIAL LITTLE DIAMOND, about the Golden Age of Hollywood) is at the first-draft stage. I should really work on DIAMOND, but it's been a long time since I've worked anything new. I want to spend Spring Break working on a new project.
I've long had an idea for a play (currently titled SCAPEDOG), about a seemingly perfect family whose imperfections are exposed when they get a dog for the first time. I have some of the outline worked out, but it's looking pretty shallow at the moment.
I have another idea for a play (no title yet) about the education system. I don't exactly know which aspects it will focus on yet, but I think that would be something people would come out to see. I mean, everyone's got an opinion on that one, right? (The answer is yes, they totally do, I hear about it all the time.)
So, over Spring Break, I'm hoping to write outlines for SCAPEDOG and the school play (Hey, that might be a good title: THE SCHOOL PLAY!), and perhaps tweak a little bit on MIMIC'S RIDDLE. I'll let you know how far I get with all of that.
I've long had an idea for a play (currently titled SCAPEDOG), about a seemingly perfect family whose imperfections are exposed when they get a dog for the first time. I have some of the outline worked out, but it's looking pretty shallow at the moment.
I have another idea for a play (no title yet) about the education system. I don't exactly know which aspects it will focus on yet, but I think that would be something people would come out to see. I mean, everyone's got an opinion on that one, right? (The answer is yes, they totally do, I hear about it all the time.)
So, over Spring Break, I'm hoping to write outlines for SCAPEDOG and the school play (Hey, that might be a good title: THE SCHOOL PLAY!), and perhaps tweak a little bit on MIMIC'S RIDDLE. I'll let you know how far I get with all of that.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Weighing in on Spiderman
First, an update: My play reading went well. Not great, but it was fine. I'm hoping to make the final changes on the rewrite today, and then call it a day on this one - send it away to some places. It has maybe one more rewrite in it, but that would be it.
Okay, to the main event now. Everyone else is doing it, and I'm not too proud to admit that I've been sucked into the latest theatrical vortex that seems to have captured the world's attention: Spiderman. After reading this:http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/940190--troubled-spider-man-musical-hires-new-writer, I am finally at the official head-shaking, judging stage. No, I haven't seen it, but I respect many of the top tier theatre critics who have, and I can't see myself disagreeing with them if I were $140 poorer.
OI-VAY! Are you kidding me? 65 million dollars, 1 million dollars a week to produce, 4 major cast injuries and almost 3 months of previews, and they're NOW hiring a writer to help with script damage control? Idiots. And I'm sorry, but people who go to it are idiots, too.
Okay, to the main event now. Everyone else is doing it, and I'm not too proud to admit that I've been sucked into the latest theatrical vortex that seems to have captured the world's attention: Spiderman. After reading this:http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/940190--troubled-spider-man-musical-hires-new-writer, I am finally at the official head-shaking, judging stage. No, I haven't seen it, but I respect many of the top tier theatre critics who have, and I can't see myself disagreeing with them if I were $140 poorer.
OI-VAY! Are you kidding me? 65 million dollars, 1 million dollars a week to produce, 4 major cast injuries and almost 3 months of previews, and they're NOW hiring a writer to help with script damage control? Idiots. And I'm sorry, but people who go to it are idiots, too.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Play Reading!
On Wednesday, January 26 at 7:30 pm at the Stage Door (here in Cranbrook), I am hosting a reading for a new play. Of mine. It's called THE MIMIC'S RIDDLE, and it's about a family that moves from the Ireland countryside into Dublin in order to try and secure some kind of fortune. Oh, and it's a period piece, set in 1750.
I'm in my 4th or so draft. I ned to get it in front of an audience to see what's working. I'm not finished this draft and I'm wondering if I can get it done by the deadline (this upcoming Friday, so I can rehearse with the cast). I'm excited, but freaked out. This could go really badly. On the other hand, I think I'd rather have something go badly than not do anything at all, so let's raise a glass to prospective failure!
I'm in my 4th or so draft. I ned to get it in front of an audience to see what's working. I'm not finished this draft and I'm wondering if I can get it done by the deadline (this upcoming Friday, so I can rehearse with the cast). I'm excited, but freaked out. This could go really badly. On the other hand, I think I'd rather have something go badly than not do anything at all, so let's raise a glass to prospective failure!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Neil LaBute
I'm a big fan. Neil LaBute really goes where no other playwright has gone before. The Shape of Things is particularly good.
I read his latest, The Break of Noon recently. I really liked it. I wondered about a few things, though. In his introduction, LaBute declares that he is a "better and braver artist" than he is a person. He's certainly a great and brave artist. But there's one point in the play where I suspect he chickened out a bit. Either that, or he and I just see things differently, which is totally fine.
After the protagonist, John's, revelation that he survived a deadly office shooting in order to spread the word of God to one and all, his struggle consists of battling a string of people who either don't believe him, or resent him for it. One such is the Host: a, well, host of a television talk-show who seems bent on getting all up in John's grill about his zeal. Having had enough, John explodes: " . . . I don't even know what I'm saying now, but God spoke to me, he chose right then to take charge of my life and so be it! You think that's crazy . . . How 'bout Noah? And Moses? Or Adam and goddamn Eve? Huh? Read the Koran or the Bible or any of it. All of this is crazy! Every last guy in the belly of a whale's insane. Okay? Totally bonkers . . . but it's also true."
So, I think the unbrave part about his artistry here is this: To a Christian believer (and in this play, the references lead me to believe that John is a new convert), the Bible is an exclusive text. The Koran isn't bad or anything, it's just someone else's book, and certainly someone else's truth. Now, maybe, John is early in the process, or maybe Neil LaBute purposely wanted John to be open-minded about God, so that his work would not be exclusive. Maybe he didn't mean for it to matter whose God it is that's represented in this play. I'll concede to that.
For the most part though, I think he just didn't want to offend anyone.
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